TOM McDonald says it’s fitting Melbourne will play Geelong Cats in the first elimination final at the MCG on Friday, September 7.

Speaking at AAMI Park on Monday morning, McDonald said the fact Melbourne will play Geelong for the third time this year, on the back of two thrilling encounters, was appropriate for both teams.

And although Melbourne lost its season-opener to Geelong by three points at the MCG, and went down to the Cats by a kick-after-the-siren at GMHBA Stadium in round 18, McDonald was confident Melbourne could make it third time lucky.

“It’s pretty exciting to have two games, both coming down to a kick at the end of a game, and unfortunately we’ve lost both of them, but I reckon the way we’ve played in both games – we haven’t disgraced ourselves at all,” he said.

“The second one, in particular, we probably should’ve won, but they were outstanding in the last quarter, but looking back on it, we made a lot of mistakes.

“We know we can beat them and we’re going to have to play really well to beat a team like Geelong, with the players they’ve got, but we’re really confident about the way we’re playing will stack up.”

McDonald said the fact Melbourne had defeated finalists West Coast Eagles and GWS Giants in the final two home-and-away rounds had given the group strong belief.

And he added that the team was going out there to win “as we think that our best is good enough”.

“I think yesterday (Sunday) was as good as we’ve played all year against a quality side to win by 45 points against one of the better sides in the comp,” he said.

“To run into the finals, playing a couple of really quality sides, as a lead-in, has been really good for us.

“To stand-up in both of them and playing really well is a massive improvement for us.”